When I came home and pulled into my parking space I spied a package setting in the threshold of my door.  A surge of excitement filled me when I realized that that could be “the book.”   The shape and size were right.   I gathered my purse from the seat next to me and with keys jangling I made it for my door, scooped up the package and read the return address…sure enough it was “the book”, “Yes, the Red Book and Cotton / Journey to True Freedom, written by my friend and business partner, John Solomon Sandridge, is here.”  I squealed to myself.  I unlocked the door, swooshed it open, dropped my keys and purse onto my table,  swept the door closed with my foot and tore the cardboard lap open on the packaging open.  Then carefully slide it out from its darkness into the light of my waiting hand, dropped the cardboard after birth onto the table with the other and stood there  just gazing at it.   “It’s here.  Months of work and finally it’s here,” I said.  I ran my hand over its front cover and read it, turned it over and did the same absorbing every detail and font.

Then I gently opened it’s front cover and was instantly transported back to 4th grade when my teacher, Mrs. Hyer, taught us how to handle our brand new math text books…”First you set the book on its spine and open its front cover flat to the desk, now the back, now take a small section of the front pages and open them and run your finger along the inside…”  As carefully as that 4th grader I opened it’s cover and viewed the fresh new insides.  Flipped through the pages of text, without opening it fully keeping in mind its newness, and  absorbed the new layout and feel.  Ahhhh, perfect.  Better than it was.

I want to say that I’ve been especially honored to be a part of the birthing of this book from editing manuscript to final copy.  As I mentioned I was one involved with editing it many times over and was a part of getting it to its first print.  But to now be on this end, the “re-do” and movement into our company, comes with it’s own unique joy.

You may notice that their is now a sub-title.  I don’t remember if I mentioned this before, but since we were in the process of having to re-do the cover and inside layout we discussed everything.  The new title came into being because the book is about so much more than slavery, it’s also about finding True-Freedom in our life and how to create it.  Ergo the subtitle.

The other occurrence  yesterday was, one of my kids was sick and throwing up…  the one I’m diligently working on restoring a relationship with.  They ending up spending the night and after a good bit of vomiting, poor thing, they felt a lot better and we talked and talked.  Which explains why there was no post yesterday.  And I want to say right here that yesterday felt like it always used to, but better, because I’ve healed and changed (changes I’m still working to make automatic rather than paying attention to myself, but I’m getting there) and so have they and we’re finding sweet harmony again.  The transition is occurring with beauty and grace.  And I am tearfully thankful.

You know?  This transition from primary care taker/stay at home mom to … their adults and you’re hands are now off, has been a sticky wick and that’s been in spite of the fact that I thought I had done what I needed to do as they moved through their teens to reach this point.

So what about today?  Lot’s of things business, seeing my kids, and Caleb ran around with me doing business. 

Night, love ya,
Theresa Jane
-who will be going to bed and it’s only 12:25, amazingly early for me 

In the Steven King movie I talked about last, there was a female character who was dying a terrible death.  It was made obvious that it was due to her holding on to hate.  Her line: “Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold on to.”

Translation: this was what allowed her to survive.

The movie shows us that she was obviously hurt in her childhood and then in her marriage.  Her “demons”, Bitterness and Hate, permeated her and in the end they devoured her with sickness and twisted her outside body into a terrible form reflecting what was inside… She wanted to die.  It was the only way she knew to “kill them off” and release her from them and her awful existence.

These “demons” we/I co-exist with exact a terribly high price to allow us to live off from/hold on to them…

I want to be released from my “demons”.  However I know that I don’t have to die to be released, but they have to.  I can go on to live a beautiful and peaceful existence after I’ve killed off my “demons” (my issues) and replace them with “angels”.  In this case “angels” of Forgiveness and Love for all people including my mother.

This is also the message of the book John Solomon wrote: Red Book and Cotton.  It is the entire theme really.  How to overcome the issues that keep us from “true-freedom”.  The man, Nimrod, had every reason to hold on to his anger and hate, he was born and raised an African American slave.  Who was treated worse than the slaves??  But in spite of his childhood and adult treatment and existence he was able to overcome and go on to live in not just the paper freedom that the government granted in his lifetime, but he was able to arrive at his true-freedom as well.  By learning to love and forgive those that had been atrocious to him and his people.

To me it has been a tremendous eye opener to how I needed to live.  His life story has played a very powerful role over the years to my inner healing.  Because if anyone “deserved” to hold onto to their hate it would have been him.  But he learned to let it go, “kill off his demons” and because he did he was able to experience true-freedom and this is the message to us that is in the book.  Through his life story we learn of his pain and traumas, the horrors committed against him and were all around him and then we are shown how he learned to free himself of the anger, hate, and unforgiveness he harbored toward the white people.

The book has been inspiring.  Provided me tremendous guidance and self-revelation to jerk me awake and to keep me on the path to my inner healing/True-freedom.  Read it.  You’ll be glad you did.  Check out John’s blog too, click here, it’s based on his book and the truths that lie within.

Night, love ya,
Theresa

About a week or two ago John1 became burdened with what he was seeing reported in the news over the last few weeks and just couldn’t shake it:  the horrors being committed by parents against their own children.  Shanyia Davis being one–the five year old whose mother sold her as a sex slave.  She was raped, murdered, and her body thrown on the side of the road.  He was so troubled that he made a video for her and is working on more.

As he formulated and created the video he also created our “newset addition”.  Our new “theme” if you will: “BLAMe Your Parents”.  (You say BLAMe-blam) Shanyia is dead because of her mother.  There’s a 15 year old who is dead because his father shot him in the head…

So how does this “go along” with the Red Book and Cotton?

• The book takes place during American Slavery and is the true story about the life of an African American slave named Nimrod, who’s John1′s* great, great grandfather.
• Parents are committing out and and out horrors against their children: selling them as sex slaves and treating them like slaves by shooting them in the head…
• We believe the problems the youth are having today their, addictions and bad habits– alcoholism, drug addictions, overeating, pornography–are a form of slavery.  Rather than enslavement it’s a mental thing, an In-Slave-Mental** issue–a term John1 coined.  This “slavery” their experiencing comes from their parents addictions/slavery which is a residue of American slavery from the 1700′s.  Red Book and Cotton offers a solution to the problems, which is True Freedom.

Starting on Thanksgiving we uploaded the video for Shanyia Davis to YouTube and since, two more have been added.  The other two videos are from the 40 that I’ve been telling you John1′s been working on–the “book videos”–for the book.

I’ve embedded Shanyia’s Video here.  It’s called “Shanyia’s Cry”.  It’s a brand new concept, one that again was totally John1′s idea and creation.  I haven’t been able to snatch a shred of creative credit here.    The man is amazingly creative.

Be sure you follow the directions at the beginning.  I’ll post one of the other two videos tomorrow, but if you don’t want to wait, and I wouldn’t blame you click here.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4jzTbWF0zE&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Night, Love ya,
Theresa Jane
-who went to see Blind Side again and needed every tissue she brought just in case.  This is such a great movie!  Go see it!
–*John1 is: John Solomon Sandridge.  My business partner and author of Red Book and Cotton.  If you’re a new friend to my blog you need to know this.  I also have a son named John, who also works with us and it just became too confusing to always have to note who was who